DPStewart

Well Hollywood needs to learn the lesson everyone else has - that America is not the world. China and India both turn out some great films, as does South Korea, and many European countries. Welcome to Earth, Hollywood.

So what do you all think should I do? Since I don't seem to be able to edit the original post - Should I add the additional product links down here in the thread? Or should I start a new thread?

It's the 20mm f/3.5 "pancake" style. One of the smaller 20mm out there. Just as sharp as any other pretty much. Not the fastest lens in the world, but it IS sharp all the way open at f/3.5....which of course becomes about f/2.4 with the speedbooster. VERY well made lens. All the serious reviews gave it very good reports, so I figured that as mainly the Gimbal use lens it would be right on the money....IT IS. Not super cheap - $500 new. But It's a really solid lens that gives NO problems on single-handle gimbals. And with the Speedbooster the field of view is really great for most gimbal stuff. It pretty much stays on my DS1 all the time ready to go at a moment's notice. Expensive - but it completed my gimbal steady-shot setup perfectly so I'm glad I got it. I've looked around, but I don't think there's any other 20mm that can go on a Speedbooster that's any better.

No, it doesn;t require it. That 4th (and 5th for head follow) mode for lighter cameras is pre-programmed. You CAN however go into the PID software and set the moter powers a little differently for your exact cameras. With the normal stock software profile the regular mode has the motors turned up all the way to handle a camera up to the full weight. And the "lightweight" mode (Modes #4 and #5) are set really low to handle things like an iPhone 6 or a Sony a5100. My BMPCC with speedbooster and voightlander lens and extra battery was still a little to light for the regular mode, but just a tad too heavy for the lightweight mode - so I went into the PID software and just bumped up the motor power settings 2 steps only for the "lightweight" modes #4 and #5, and now it's perfect for my exact BMPCC setup. And the normal mode is still perfect for my other DSLRs and my NX1.

I'd add some more links to my original post, but it seems the forum doesn't let you edit your posts after a certain amount of time. I don't really want to toss other links throughout the thread as that makes things difficult for readers who come to it. Any ideas? Am I missing some edit function?

Brilliant post Ed. ....as usual!

Well, this kind of material can get a little "dry"... So I try to keep it entertaining for folks.

It's nowhere near cheap. It's $600. The point of this device is SMPTE Time Code. If you don't need it then you get a DR-70D for $300 - but it can usually be had on sale for closer to $250. I got mine for $169 on a B&H "Deal of the Day" thing.

Ha! The "Red Star" Yeah, that's the one. I wouldn't exactly give it high marks for useability - but that monster DOES do what it advertises, and it is cheap! And I guess NONE of has that JuicedLink Little Darling yet, but I am curious to give it a go. Right now I use a Tascam DR-05 for "Belt;Pack" audio recording. Works really well and has a full readout screen and navigation. Plus I got it for only $75. But the Little Darling is a lot smaller - that's why I want to get my hands on it.

This is a bunch of basic information about affordable camera support gear. A lot of people who are new to all this Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera stuff (or DSLR sized cameras), and folks who don't have much money to spend have been asking me about all this lately. I don't have a lot of time to do gear reviews, so I decided to try to cram as much information as I could into this one video hoping to answer as many questions as I can all in one place. Items covered in this video: BMPCC Cages Rail Systems Shoulder Rigs External Batteries Follow Focus Devices Matte Boxes Cats and Dogs Living Together Tripods Jibs Gimbal Carry Case *Note: The "one size fits all" cage I show here costs $149. I forgot to mention that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqzJlgPjL_c Some of the links I've been able to locate: "One size fits all" Cage - $149 Movcam BMPCC Cage - $323 Fotga Follow Focus - $170 Follow Focus Speed Crank - $13 Giottos Quick Release Adapter - $38 Offset Riser Clamp - $18 Cavision Matte Box - $99

Well I really like cameras that give a generally cinematic look - that's why I use so many Blackmagics - but that's only one look of many. It doesn't convey nature documentaries as well as super high-res clear and realistic cameras will. Like a Sony FS7 or Canon C300. We are getting to a point with the evolution of these cameras that certain cameras are intentionally designed to have different strengths. And so far they don't really overlap. Meaning: yeah sure, you can make a super-documentary camera "look" more cinematic and vice-versa, but it takes a lot of extra time both in shooting or in post to do so, and it's just a much more streamlined process to simply pick the right camera for the job - in PRECISELY the way we already pick the right lens for the shot. Same thing.

As far as I know it DOES NOT. However, you can easily get the previous firmware version that still allowed for it. Where? I don't know because I dont have the 5D I have a 6D, but everyone was talking about it a few months back and they said it was really easy. That newest firmware from Canon didn't offer anything that Magic Lantern doesn't already do a better job of anyway, so Magic Lantern is still the win.

Yes. Here's the video they put out about the PID software. There is also a PDF instruction set that they sent me too. Helpful folks over there at Owl Dolly. And here is balancing a lighter camera like maybe the LX100. Also - there is a 4th mode that applies lower powered motor settings for lighter cameras - you press the little silver metal "calibration" button on the camera platform 3-times quickly to enter it. It is basically a second set of PID values that are reduced in power for lightweight cameras.

The resolution race has officially become a wank-fest. Just like we knew it would.

There is no taking lens on the new SLR Magic Anamorphic lenses. They are actual real anamorphic lenses. These are the CHEAPEST anamorphics out there. Anamorphics have always been astoundingly expensive. An Angenieux Optimo 30-72mm T4 2S Anamorphic Zoom sells for $70,000 new. A typical vintage Kowa Prominar 40mm Anamorphic will hit you about $16,000. ...that's used. A Hawk Vantage V-Lite lens will rent for as much as $500 per day.....for ONE lens. Always been like this.

Those are NOTHING! Man, you should have seen the complaints on the first year of the Nebula 4000! Almost all the gimbals rack up complaints. Mine was all hosed up when it arrived - thought it was defective. Turned out someone loaded in the wrong PID software profile in manufacturing. Loaded up the correct one from the drop-down list. Then did the 20-second horizon auto-calibration and it's been right on the money ever since.

Most used lens? - Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 Art. Favorite lenses to shoot with at any price? - Zeiss Standard Speeds. Favorite dream lenses that it's possible to actually own? - Sony Cine-Alta II.

Haaa! You were just hangin' your DS1 upside down out the car window, were'nt you!?!? DON'T DROP IT!! Nice. Very nice!

Okay folks, NO. You cannot balance the DS1 with the giant Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 Art lens. I used the Metabones Speecbooster's foot as the connection point instead of the BMPCC's own bottom mount, but it's still too front heavy. By the time you move the mounting point far enough forward, the camera will hit the back of the cradle. Now you could also add about 300 grams on top of the BMPCC - that would get the balance right - but by then you will be significantly over the DS1's max payload of 1.6kg. Oh well...I never even suspected that would work anyway. This lens is a freakin' BAZOOKA. The one lens that I really want to try that I don't have is the Samyang/Rokinon 16mm T/2.2 because that is a great lens, and their 10mm can be a little too wide sometimes even though it's a killer lens. I have a couple of 20mm's that I've been using but I'm not knocked out with them. Nikkor Ai-s 20mm and a Voightlander 20mm pancake style. They are both "good" lenses, but they aren't "fantastic". I think 20mm is a length that just doesn't lend itself to great lenses maybe. I dunnno. Anyone know of a really killer 20mm lens? I also have the Panny 20mm f/1.7 but that lens is also in the "good": category, but as an MFT lens I cannot speedboost it so it's really not a comparable 20mm even. I've heard good things about the Olympus 17mm - but that's really close to the Sam/Rock...and the Olympus 25mm gets into the range of my Nikkor 28mm Ai-S which IS a great lens. Anyone got any other recommendations? Thanks.

Yeah - of course you have to balance it! But the DS1 uses NO TOOLS to balance and I can go from my BMPCC with a small lens and then switch to my NX1 with a big lens and TOTALLY re-balance every axis in about 2-minutes. BOOM! And you don't have to go into PID settings at all because the DS1 comes shipped with 2 settings already for heavier and for lighter cameras. Sometimes I have more trouble than that just tying my damn shoes!

Blackmagic Design Cinema and Pocket Cameras. 1. Record in Film-log RAW at native ISO. (No other settings needed.) 2, Bring into DaVinci Resolve which automatically converts it to a normalized REC.709 output. (No other settings needed.) 3. Adjust color or exposure a little bit to suit each clip. (No other settings needed.) 4. Render to DNxHD or HR 10-bit as a master file to be uploaded anywhere or encoded to small compressed files for whatever. OKAY - I'm sort of joking...a little bit. But not really. All those other lengthy complicated steps others listed? Yeah, I have to do all that stuff with my cameras that shoot compressed codecs too, but not with BMD RAW. Once you go RAW it is very....VERY hard to go back.

While the DS1 could take the total weight of the pocket PLUS speedbooster PLUS the Sigma 18-35mm..... I don't think it will work with a lens that long. But it's funny - I've never even tried it. I should. My assumption was that the center of gravity with a bazooka like the 18-35mm wouldn;t ever work. I'll see if I can use the lens support of the Speedbooster as the mounting point. The DS1 also has a small extender plate for center-of-gravity issues, and I suppose if I mount the Sony NP970 battery holder I have directly ON top of the BMPCC, it might make the center of gravity work out. Now I kinda feel silly for never even trying it. Guess I'll go test it all out.

Beholder DS1. Wonderful. Be prepared to spend zero hours tweaking it. Be prepared to spend zero hours balancing it. Be prepared to switch from a heavy camera to a light one by pushing a little button 3-times. I think the Beholder DS1 wins for exceptional engineering. And it is EXTREMELY compact and easy to tote around. Got mine with 2 sets of batteries that each last about 3-hours. So 6-hours of shooting without a recharge. This thing has changed the way I approach nearly ALL my shooting.

This looks amazing. That "Elmarit" line of Leica lenses in incredible.